When Brother Bruno was at prayer one night, he was disturbed by the croaking of a bullfrog. All his attempts to disregard the sound failed, so he shouted from his window, “Quiet!…
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“Are you God?”
With Christmas coming, grandma was out shopping for gifts for her grandchildren. While she was at the toy store going through her list she noticed a small homeless girl outside wistfully looking into…
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The way out of fear
Once there was a young warrior. Her teacher told her that she had to do battle with fear. She didn’t want to do that. It seemed too aggressive; it was scary; it…
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“I distinctly remember forgetting it!”
When the Master was a boy at school, a classmate treated him with persistent cruelty. Now, older and contrite, he came to the monastery and was received with open arms. One day,…
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Falling into the cup
Once there were two ants sitting on the rim of a cup that contained amrit, the nectar of immortality. As they were talking, one of the ants lost his balance and was…
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The eye to see
A writer arrived at a monastery to write a book about the Master. “People say you are a genius. Are you?” he asked. “You might say so,” said the Master with a smile. “And…
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The flea and the elephant
A flea decided to move with his family into the ear of an elephant. So he shouted, “Mr. Elephant, Sir, my family and I plan to move into your ear. I think…
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The saint
There once lived a man so godly that even the angels rejoiced at the sight of him. But, in spite of his great holiness, he had no notion that he was holy.…
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Darwin’s black box
A black box is a whimsical term used in science to describe something whose inner workings are mysterious, either because they cannot be seen or because they’re just incomprehensible. Charles Darwin’s black box was the cell.…
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Listening – at Christmas and always
A few years after I left my secondary school in Manchester, I was invited to help out with the school’s Christmas Fair and I decided to have a go at being Father…